Silence.
That's all the Slayer knew, at the moment. Silence, and darkness.
But slowly, vision was coming to him. Not that he saw much. Only the red glow of his own symbol, coming into his view. Other sensations were returning as well, as well as memories. Removing his helmet, ready to end the Dark Lord of Hell himself. Davoth weak from their battle, asking him if he had anything to say, before striking his creator down. The Slayer's simple answer of "No." The feeling as the Doom Blade penetrated armor and flesh. The Father's final words, his sudden weakness, as well as him being sealed away, back in the original sarcophagus he was in, back when he first woke up in that room in the UAC base on Mars.
But things were different this time. He could distinctly feel the lining of the Praetor Suit, around his body. And there was something on his chest, but he couldn't tell what. Nor could he feel any chains, binding him down. In fact, it seems that if anything, the only restraint he had was the sarcophagus lid. But he wasn't sure if he move it, unsure if he still had his powers after killing the one being behind his entire existance. But, I'll accomplish nothing, by not trying, he thought, as he put his hands up. He tried to move the sarcophagus's lid, and though it took multiple pushes to slide it away, he was able to, causing the lid to crash to the ground with a loud echoing tumble.
Now where once there was darkness, now there was light, as he closed his eyes for a bit, to let them adjust, and sat up, feeling whatever was on his chest tumble towards his legs. He opens them again, surprised and relieved to learn that the object he had felt was none other than his own helmet, which he picked up and examined, as well as himself. He didn't seem to be any worse for the wear, if anything, he felt like he had slept for a long time, and was just waking up, still groggy. But it was fading fast, which was a good sign. Now he looked around, finding himself in what looks like ruins, and beyond those ruins, a forest. When he looked up, he noticed the sun was low in the sky, not quite dusk, nor dawn, but close to it. Not that he had any idea what the time was, or how long this world's day was. He had experienced other worlds and realms, so even the concepts of "day" and "night" might be foreign here. But he wouldn't learn anything here, and setting his helmet down, slowly got up, out of the sarcophagus, stretching all his limbs. Everything felt good, so he grabbed his helmet, and began to explore.
After a few hours of exploration by his rough estimate, the sun was getting low enough that vision was starting to be an issue. He had also found nothing of value, no people, only other ruins every now and then. What happened here? He thought, and put his helmet on, to see what he could pick up. The moment the helmet made contact with his collar, he watched as its systems booted up, giving OK's to all internal systems. Equipment launcher was green, as well as the Doom Blade, which he had noticed still had some of Davoth's blood on it, blood that if he could help it, he'd never truly erase. Maybe he'd paint the blade red in the exact area where his blood now resided, but one thing at a time. Even the pocket dimension drive was online and functioning properly. And now, to check said pocket dimension, he thought. Pulling up its contents reveals the presence of all his weapons, mods, even some ammo. Shotgun, super shotgun, rocket launcher, BFG, and beyond, were all there. He needed ammo for some of his weapons, but that was to be expected, after how his most recent fight was against the devil himself. Even the Sentinel Hammer was still present, as well as the Crucible's hilt, depowered with its blade in the Icon of Sin's brain. So, I'm pretty good to go, weapons-wise.
Now he turned his attention to things outside of himself, trying to raise the central mainframe of the Fortress of Doom. CONNECTION UNAVAILABLE, his HUD told him, only repeating that after multiple tries. Damn, so I'm on my own, he thought as he looked up at the darkening sky, and the stars above him. But what grabbed his attention was the moon, and how it looked shattered across the sky. Well, THAT's new. Granted, even Earth's moon was fucked over by Hell, so it's not exactly the strangest sight. And on top of that, Argent D'Nur has the World Spear. How in all creation does a giant ship, the size of a planet, shaped like a naturally occurring crystal, completely impale a planet and not break it up? I'll admit, I NEVER understood that. Switching focus, he realized that if he couldn't access the Fortress, even across his inter-dimensional communications device, it did mean he needed SOMETHING to work with. I've been so focused on myself. Now let's see if I can learn anything about where I am.
He extended his search parameters, trying to detect any signals in the air, as he found other ruins and sat down. Hopefully, if there were people in this new world, they were advanced enough to send signals wirelessly. A few scans later, and he had something. It looked like a news report, and of all things, it was in English. This left the Doom Slayer thinking about an ongoing theory of his, that some things repeated themselves across multiple worlds and dimensions, since he had seen and saved a second Earth, quite similar to his own, as well as a few similarities regarding the Argenta, since they too were as human as they came. He smiled to himself, thinking about how he was in a unique position to potentially answer questions about the multi-verse in general that most philosophers and scientists would never even get around to asking. Or, should that be omni-verse now? He thought, as he watched the news broadcast, which was apparently a rerun. The anchor, Lisa Lavender as the subtitles said, was talking about some dangerous criminal known as Roman Torchwick's attempted robbery of a Dust store, foiled by what appeared to be a young girl in red and black wielding a scythe that looked way too large for her yet to her seemed as if it was nothing, as well as the Faunus Civil Rights Protest, among other things. Uh, what? Dust? I need WAY more intel. And what kind of world is this when a teenager is capable of fighting like that? She doesn't even look old enough to drink! Please tell me this world has an internet I can access, he thought, as he scanned the wireless signals around him. Aha! Now, I'm in for a long night, he thought, as he had found what appeared to be a wikipedia-type site of sorts, which only further reinforced his theory about multiversal similarities.
Scanning his immediate surroundings for danger, he pulled up the site and began to read. He spent hours, learning about where he was. About this new world, called Remnant. Well that's a depressing name. Couldn't have picked something more cheery? He learned about the strange black beasts that hunted humanity, that these people called Grimm.
Oh good, I have new prey, he thought with a sadistic grin, extending and then retracting the Doom Blade. He took special note how negative emotions attracted them, which did not fully bother the Slayer, but he noted with slight caution. On one hand, GOOD. More of these things for me, and less to bother the people of this world, he thought, knowing that none could match his anger, his hatred, his rage, for all things non-human that threatened humanity's existence. But on the other hand, lack of respect for what an enemy can do is ALWAYS a recipe for disaster. And as I've yet to meet one of these things, I can't say for sure how well I'll do against them. He had picked up some battlefield wisdom over the...how long had it been? Being immortal, time grew funny for him. Thousands, millions, billions, he forgot how many years he had lived, only that it was FAR more than a normal human should. And no wonder some on Earth think I'm a god. He shook his head, and moved on in his research.
He finally learned what Dust was, the mysterious energy source these people used, for everything from fighting to technology, noting that even they didn't fully understand it. What he found especially interesting was the fact it ceased to work when it left the atmosphere. Well that's fair. Hell, there's an organ that we've yet to fully explain that we all share, and use everyday, he thought, but it REALLY sucks ass that it won't work in space. So, advanced as these people are, they don't even have so much as a satellite up there? Now that sucks ass. He kept reading up on said Dust, getting ads for something called the Schnee Dust Company as he went. Ah, the big name in this stuff huh? Like how Rockefeller was back in the day, when oil was first discovered. I bet that I'll likely need some, at some point. To likely augment my weapons and armor with this Dust.
He continued reading, learning about the huntsmen and huntresses, charged with upholding the peace and slaying Grimm, and the academies that trained them, how there was one named Beacon that was the closest to him. He also learned of the mystical energy field known as Aura, as well as the abilities known as Semblances. So, is THAT how that girl did all that? People here can just wake up superpowers and forcefields? So that's why a girl dressed like that can just take a few hits and be fine huh? Well, it DOES explain a lack of armor, especially if these people all are killing Grimm all the time. It did make him wonder if he himself possessed either of those things, not that he minded if he didn't. I've gone THIS long without even hearing of them, I can go a little bit longer without, he thought with a chuckle as he read, also noting how people could use their scrolls to monitor them, an eyebrow raising as he sees one. So, they have smartphones here too huh? Throw that one on the multiversal theory pile. I'm sure if I have an Aura, adding the right display to my HUD is likely something I could do in my sleep.
He also learned about what the news had meant about Faunus, seeing the people with animal-like features, and sighed. People always want to hate on others for some reason. Prejudge based on something. And here, it's because some happen to have animal parts. Well, it MIGHT be a good thing these faunus don't exist on Earth. They'd be loved, but probably for all the wrong reasons. Especially by anyone who saw that one monster girl anime from a century back. Or that catgirl-themed visual novel set from the same time, set in a café. Still, why can't people just get along? Why can't people just see people? He thought, reading up now on the White Fang. And y'all basically have become the Black Panthers of this world huh? He even sympathized, once he read all about what the Schnee Dust Company did. Oh these Schnees sound like your typical rich asshole family. He kept reading on, all about various other small details of Remnant, such as the calendar, locations, money, and etc, right as he noticed the sun starting to rise. Thinking he'd read enough for now, he closed out the browser, and refocused his attention to his surroundings, walking away. Well, hopefully, it means they can pick this up, he thinks, as he activates the Praetor Suit's locator beacon, turning the gain to maximum. Meanwhile, let's see if I can find some of these Grimm.
A few hours of walking during the morning, he came across what looked like an abandoned farm, thoroughly destroyed, and he could feel his anger growing. Alright, any assholes want to answer for their crimes? He thought, as he pulled his shotgun out of his pocket dimension, giving it a loud cock. As if an answer, he heard something crashing through the trees towards him, and as he rushed towards it, found himself face to face with a large scorpion-like creature, something he remembered was called a death stalker. Alright, big guy, let's dance. I even brought music, He thought with a grin, as heavy metal started playing loudly from his suit, and both combatants rushed towards each other. The Slayer immediately went into tactical mode, looking over the beast, trying to assess its strengths and weaknesses. First, that stinger, he thought, as he dodged the beast's claws, planting a sticky grenade on said tail, which blew it off cleanly, lots of double jumping and dashing involved. This thing is fast. And strong too, He thought as it smashed through trees and rocks as if it was nothing. Fought faster. AND stronger too, he continued to think as he switched to his plasma rifle to fire away at the beast. Best to conserve ammo here, He thought as he narrowly dodged a claw swipe, answering with a heat blast, which seemed to stun the creature, but then he thought back. Joints. ALWAYS a weak spot, He thought as he pulled out the Super Shotgun, putting shells the arm near its claw, as well as some underneath the beast when it rears up to smash him down, and once the beast seemed weak enough, extended the Doom Blade to stab it right through the brain, or rather, where the brain should be. As the beast gave its death cry, it then dissolved into dust, which at first confused the Slayer, until he remembered what he had read. Oh, right, they do that. But the SHITTY thing is, I get nothing. He had gotten quite used to "feeding" off of demons, in his own way, be it for health, armor, or ammo, that now that he got nothing, it revealed a weakness of his.
Well fuck. What's next? A few large dark feathers impaled the ground near his position, and he looked up to see what looked like a giant raven, a Nevermore as he remembered, swooping down towards him. Felt the anger, and sought to crash my party? Not today Poe. Quoth the Slayer, "Rip and Tear," he thought as he jumped up, finding himself inside the beast's beak as it swooped back up to try and swallow him. Holding the beast's beak open with one arm, he fired a grenade into its throat via his equipment launcher. Works on cacodemons, now let's see how you enjoy an explosive meal, he thinks, as he finishes it off with a few blasts from his ballista, finishing the beast off as he falls to the ground. Who wants some more?
Satisfied with the lack of response, he did press on, feeling satisfied that this farm was avenged. He unfortunately, had no idea where he was going, or where he was. Only that what he wanted was to get to civilization. He was already making a list, of all the things he'd need. Ok, so primary need, is a workshop, with tools. Anything from screwdrivers, to welding torches, and beyond. I'll need Dust, so I can experiment, and convert my weapons and armor to use Dust. It was then that he realized what such needs would entail. And THAT all means I need money. And since this is Remnant's most valuable resource, likely A LOT of money. Damn, I haven't needed to worry about cash in a LOOONG time. Like, a few thousand/milllion/billion or so years ago. Which in turn, leads to a final, or rather first, need, He thought, the one thing he'd need before he can put all his other plans into motion. A need since he refused to harm these people in any way, even by robbing a bank. After all, sure, unspeakable horrors roamed the countryside, preying upon those brave/foolish enough to wander among them, eager to overrun the works of humanity. But it was also a world in which the average citizen could likely go to work, the store, and home, and never feel as if in any danger, that the darkness is kept far enough away.
In other words, Remnant wasn't a world that was overrun with Grimm, desperate for a savior. It was a world that handled Grimm, managed them, and sure, there were likely slipups now and then, for the most part, there was no fear, as that's what the Huntsmen and Huntresses were for. So it meant the Slayer could not just take what he wanted, or needed, to slay Grimm. He needed to work within the system. It means...I need a job, he thought with a sigh. It was almost humiliating. He, the Doom Slayer, having to work some 9 to 5 job. He, who had been the greatest among the Night Sentinels, even their king. The people of Earth considered him their ultimate hero, and to some of them, he was their god. Especially you, Dr. Richardson. But then again...humility is also considered a virtue. There's stories of those higher up, taking lower class jobs to better serve the people. A key example was from an old game he liked, where one of the gods toiled like a beast of burden for the sake of a farmer, until all of said farmer's crops were brought in, and thus he steeled himself for what he had to do. Granted, there's another issue. Mainly, if I don't legally exist here, how would payment happen? Hell, I even need just regular clothes to blend in. Which in itself means I need a base of operations, to store my armor when not in use. Oh, the needs keep piling on. Now, I will ALSO say it's not prideful to say I'd prefer a job that best suits me. I'm not exactly likely to be the best with say, customers, he thought to himself, a small chuckle coming from inside him. I need a job, or even multiple if it turns out I need to, where being me is most favorable. Now, if said job also gives other benefits, even better. I'll take anything I can get.